Guest Author: Sally MacKenzie & Giveaway!

Hooray! Sally is in the house! Sally MacKenzie, that is, one of my favorite historical romance authors. Sally writes USA Today Bestselling Regencies and they are funny, sexy, and just so great to read. She’s with us today to tell us about her upcoming book, Loving Lord Ash. Take it away, lady!

Thank you for inviting me to visit, Vanessa. And it’s so cool to be here with the Duchess of Love—er, I mean the books, not you, Vanessa ;)—on Valentine’s Day. Did you know that the Duke of Greycliffe’s family name is Valentine, and that all the boys were born on February 14? So it’s quite the special day, lol!

What fun, Sally! So, readers are loving your Duchess of Love series. What’s the premise for it, and how did you come up with such awesome book titles?

I hope everyone’s enjoying Venus and her boys! Venus is the Duchess of Greycliffe, but English society calls her the Duchess of Love because she’s the ton’s premier matchmaker—and, much to her husband’s and sons’ embarrassment, she writes Venus’s Love Notes, pamphlets of marital advice for women. The prequel novella, “The Duchess of Love,” tells how Venus met her duke; the three books—Bedding Lord Ned, Surprising Lord Jack, and Loving Lord Ash—are about her three sons.

I’m glad you like the book titles. I wanted them to sound like they were part of a series, of course, so I first came up with a pattern they could all follow: a verb and then the son’s name that the book was about. Bed rhymes with Ned, but it also so happens that a bed plays an important role in the story—and not in that way! Or not exactly in that way. Reggie, the duchess’s cat, likes to hide things under Ned’s bed. So that’s how Bedding Lord Ned came about—and the pattern was set.

Darling Mr. M, who is a bit of a jokester, told me I should title Ash’s book Kissing My Ash. Ahem. Mr. M is quite amusing in his own way, but I do not let him near my titles, for obvious reasons.

LOL! I love Mr. M! What can you tell us about Loving Lord Ash?

Here’s the back cover blurb:

A Little Misunderstanding…

Kit, the Marquis of Ashton, is in a sticky wicket. He married young and for love—how naïve. He discovered his mistake the very day of his wedding, but he is saddled now with a wife he’s reluctant to trust. And however much evidence he gathers against faithless Jess, he can’t seem to prove her guilt to the final judge—his foolish heart.

Jess knows she’s bobbled her marriage, however innocently. A fairytale wedding makes no difference if she hasn’t got the marquis charmed to show for it. Well, she’s had enough of accidental encounters with naked gentlemen and near misses explaining things to her husband. It’s time to buck up and go win her man back—even if she has to fight very dirty indeed.

Loving Lord Ash is the concluding book in the Duchess of Love series which includes the RITA nominated novella, “The Duchess of Love.” The first two books, Bedding Lord Nedand Surprising Lord Jack, both received starred reviews from Booklist, and Bedding Lord Ned was one of Booklists’ Top Ten Romances of 2012. AND the earlier books should be on sale NOW. Until February 25, the novella should be FREE and Ned’s and Jack’s book only $2.99 each at all major eBook retailers!

Wow! That’s a great deal, Sally! So, tell us what’s your favorite thing about the Regency era, especially in terms of writing?

When I was young, I read science fiction and fantasy books—and Georgette Heyer’s Regency-set stories. I guess I was never one for living in the real world 😉 So for me, the Regency is my fantasy world, where the men are mostly titled, wealthy, and in need of a wife. And I’ve always been a bit of a word geek—I love my Oxford English Dictionary. Writing Regencies lets me use words like namby-pamby, brangle, and ninnyhammer. Fun!

Have you ever considered writing in another genre or historical period?

When my kids were very young, I wrote picture book texts. I got some “good” rejections on those and even went through some revisions with one publisher, but nothing came of it. And when my first book, The Naked Duke, sold, I was working on a science fiction romance. Actually, one of my very first manuscripts, pre-kids, was a science fiction romance, now that I think about it. But at least for the foreseeable future, I expect to stay in the Regency.

What’s up next for Sally?

I’m very excited to say I’ve just agreed to do a new series based on our visit to England last September! The stories are set in a small village, Loves Bridge, and revolve around a Spinster House. But I’m just starting book one, so everything is subject to change.

I can’t wait to read your new series! Thanks so much for joining us today, Sally. Readers, Sally is giving away one copy of Bedding Lord Ned, and because it’s Valentine’s Day I’m giving away a book, too! One person who comments today will win both Sally’s book and my latest book, Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard. Just tell us what you most like (or hate) about Valentine’s Day for a chance to win!

Breaking News!!! Valentine’s Day special on my facebook page. I’m giving away TWO copies of Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard. So be sure to leave a comment for Sally, and then visit me on my facebook page!

I can’t wait for Loving Lord Ash to be release. I’m dying to know more about Ash’s wife since we only heard his brothers mention her a few times in their books. I hate valentines because it makes everyone be so sweet to each other. I’m always asking my friends and their significant others why they just don’t be sweet to each other everyday instead of waiting for this one day to come to be sweet.

I have to confess Mr. M is not a terribly romantic, at least when it comes to presents and things like that. (Maybe you guessed that from his title suggestion?) And he HATES to shop. I bought some candy at the grocery store the other day. However we opened it yesterday to celebrate the big snow.

I do remember Mr. M buying me a rose when we were young and newly married. He was so surprised it survived the day in his briefcase. Er, that was because it wasn’t real! But it was very nice.

For me, having been married for many years now, the best part of Valentine’s Day is not having to put on a big show of cards & gifts, but just making time to be together. My husband cooked breakfast for us this morning and that was just perfect. P.S. Looking forward to reading both of these new books!

Thanks, Judy! My husband just scurried off to work, and I’ll probably try to make it to my Masters swim practice tonight, since last night’s practice was cancelled–we had a big snow. But, due to the snow, Mr. M was home yesterday–I persuaded him to telecommute–so that was fun. Though he spent most of his time out with the neighborhood men and the neighborhood snow blower. But, on the positive side, I didn’t have to do that. Since I work from home, I’m usually the one shoveling. In fact I was just outside trying to get some of the “second phase” snow up. Fortunately, it looks like the sun and the temps will help today.

Congrats to Sally on her series!!! I’ve been dying to read these 🙂 Ummm… I don’t mind Valentine’s Day but I don’t like all the hype of coupledom stuff… If it’s sweet and from the heart and natural, I’m all for romantic gestures! Thanks for sharing!

I am SO VERY EXCITED for Lord ASH!! I have been dying to find out what he is all about!! Pre-ordered and so ready for June!
Plus going to check out some “V girl” books too. Always looking for something amazing to read! Thanks for doing what you do!!

Yes. I think we can make too much of a big deal about Valentine’s Day. Those who don’t have a partner feel left out. And remember back in grade school? Now I think–I hope!–schools are smarter, but back when I was a kid, I think some kids didn’t get many valentines, the ones that came in boxes, so it was clear who was popular and who wasn’t.

Hi Sally & Vanessa!
I just had a 3 all day audible.com “the Duchess of love”.

I’ve had the pleasure to meet you Sally in New Jersey I work for Barnes & Noble. I love this series… But I think Lord Jack is my main man! I was thrilled when audible had all three books. Listening to the audio after reading your books was a delight. The narrator was just perfect!
I was sure at first if I could warm up Frances/Francis…..
Turns out I did of course.

William Shakespeare was a hoot and added warmth to the story as well. Gotta Iove the Duke & the Duchess.

Oh, I’m so glad you enjoyed the books, Cathy! I have to confess I haven’t yet listened to them. The thought of hearing my words read sort of freaks me out for some reason. Well, and I have to move on to the next characters, of course.

And it was great meeting you in NJ. And I hope you’re recovering well. Had enough winter, yet? We haven’t had mail delivery since Wednesday or Thursday. And we have more snow coming down now. Ugh. But we can’t stay and enjoy it–we’re going over to our son and DIL’s. They just had twins–at the beginning of the month–and need a little help. We are bring diapers and food!

it’s a good day for some chocolate & I got a lovely surprise – my niece sent me some flowers that made me think of spring – Iris & Tulips – the delivery guy had to leave them at my side door because the snow was so deep at the front!! I hope no one missed out on special treats due to the nasty weather!

I love tulips! And great that you got them. There was an article in the Washington Post about how the big snow was bad news for florists! Valentine’s Day is big for them, and the weather was making delivery really difficult.

Oooh, I’ve been waiting for Ash’s story ever since I finished both Ned and Jack’s stories. I’ve been a big fan of Sally’s since I’ve started reading her Naked Nobility series. I think everyday should be Valentine’s Day and we shouldn’t need a special day to show our loved ones that we care.

Yay, we’ll finally get to find out what will happen to Ash and Jess. I love the Duchess of Love series, and I know the last book won’t disappoint (but I’m sad the stories about the Valentines family is coming to an end!) Since I have a sweet tooth, Valentine’s Day means getting my favorite chocolates 🙂

I hope you enjoy Ash’s story, Ada, and I’m so glad you enjoyed the series. And I’m a big fan of chocolate, too. I like milk and white chocolate best–though some people say white doesn’t count–but I’m working on liking dark chocolate since that’s “good” for you!

What I don’t like about Valentine’s Day is how our local Wal-Mart more than doubles the price of their fresh flowers! (I make sure I buy them a week before Valentine’s week, as they will last until afterwards when the prices drop back down again.)

I think Valentine’s is a very “sweet” day, but all day’s should be like that, sweet! I do not like all the commercializing for the 14TH, it’s all silly to me. A big waste, but lots of people still ‘buy’ into it, so it’ll just keep getting out of control….oh well.
I personally go for all the homemade goodies myself. I bake all of the time, LOVE it! But, on special days, like Valentine’s, Christmas, Easter, etc…. I do tend to hand out home-baked goodies to the single ones in my neighborhood. The ladies and the men are always very happy to get sweets, no one’s ever told me “no, take your cupcakes, cakes, pies or cookies elsewhere”. I just like to make them smile for a bit, of course not mentioning those couple of extra calories! LOL!! Thank goodness they still talk to me. 🙂
I enjoy reading your books Sally, wonderful books, thank you!!
I can’t wait to read Ash’s story!
Big congrats to you Sally!Vanessa, you too, great books ladies!!
P.S. Please do not enter me in super giveaway. 🙂

Thanks, Dalila! I spent the weekend with the grandbabies, so am just seeing your comment. What a great idea to bring Valentine Day treats to single folks! And I’m so glad to hear you enjoy the books–hope Ash will bring a smile to your face!